On March 4, 2015, the Larkin Street Youth Services organization held their 13th Annual Paving The Way Gala at The Four Seasons in San Francisco. All told, this year’s event raised over $950,000.00 for Larkin Street programs!
This years honoree:
Chef and Local Restauranteur Daniel Patterson. He was recognized for his commitment to Larkin Street and homeless youth during the gala. Chef Patterson — a James Beard Foundation award winning chef, restaurateur, and food writer — has long supported Larkin Street by teaching youth cooking skills. His work with Larkin Street youth inspired him to found The Cooking Project, a charity dedicated to giving children and young adults the skills to feed themselves delicious and healthy food. These cooking classes are held every other Monday at the San Francisco Cooking School.
Christian Castillo – Winner of the Going the Distance Achievement Award
Christian Castillo came to Larkin Street in June 2014 and has grown leaps and bounds since. Like so many of Larkin Street’s clients, his childhood was marked by dysfunction, neglect and loss. He found people who helped him get by, but sometimes at a great personal and societal cost. Two years ago, at age 20, Christian decided his life needed to take a different direction, so he moved to California. Life in Los Angeles did not offer the opportunities he had hoped for so he pushed north to San Francisco.
Starting out living at Larkin Street’s emergency housing for over-18-year-olds, he moved up into The Lark Inn, then to residing in a transitional living program known as Geary House. With stable housing, he is now working towards his goals, in school, and influencing his community through leadership, as a member of Larkin Street’s Youth Advisory Board.
The Generous Sponsors
Mary Lester, CamberView Partners, Sharon & Craig McCollam, and Union Bank. Funds raised during this annual gala benefit Larkin Street’s prolific continuum of services, including: housing, education, job training & assistance, support services and medical programs. Larkin Street serves about two-thirds of San Francisco’s homeless youth and is the primary provider of housing for transitional age youth in San Francisco. For every young person who exits street life, society saves more than five times the cost of long-term intervention.Larkin _Street _Gala_2015 05028
About Larkin Street Youth Services
Larkin Street Youth Services is the leading nonprofit in San Francisco empowering homeless and at-risk youth to get off the street by offering them confidence, skills, opportunities, and hope. Since 1984, Larkin Street has reached over 75,000 vulnerable young people, continuing to expand an innovative and award-winning model of housing, education, employment and health services across San Francisco. Three out of four youth who complete the full range of programs at Larkin Street successfully exit street life. For more information, please visit www.larkinstreetyouth.org.
More About Daniel Patterson
Chef Patterson is widely known for his four restaurant locations in the Bay Area: the two Michelin starred Coi (2006) and Alta CA (2013) in San Francisco; Plum Bar + Restaurant (2010) and Haven (2011) in Oakland. In spring of 2014, Coi was recognized as being among the World’s 50 Best Restaurants (#49) and Daniel was awarded “Best Chef: West” by the James Beard Foundation. In 2015, he and LA chef Roy Choi will open the first location of a new type of fast food chain, Loco’l. Loco’l aims to redefine the fast food system through chef expertise and will offer affordable, wholesome, and delicious food in food deserts.
Born in Massachusetts, Patterson moved to California in 1989. In 1994, when he was 25 years old, he opened his first restaurant in Sonoma named Babette’s. In 2000, he opened Elisabeth Daniel in San Francisco, and it was nominated “Best New Restaurant” by the James Beard Foundation in 2001. He has received numerous awards and accolades, including “Best New Chef” by Food & Wine Magazine in 1997 and “Chef of the Year” by San Francisco Magazine in 2007. In spring of 2014, Coi was recognized among the World’s 50 Best Restaurants (#49) and Daniel was awarded “Best Chef: West” by the James Beard Foundation. Patterson’s food writing has been published in The New York Times, Food & Wine, Financial Times, San Francisco Magazine, and Lucky Peach. In 2004, he co-wrote Aroma: The Magic of Essential Oils in Foods and Fragrance (Artisan) with longtime friend and perfumer Mandy Aftel. His most recent book, Coi: Stories and Recipes (Phaidon) was published in October 2013.
